Broken Skies
by Sparks' Stories
Summary: Even the strongest of hearts are easily broken, but the spirit is a hard thing to destroy. Ahsoka was one of those blessed with a will of steel that could not be easily tampered, but on this day, when darkness looms heavily on the horizon, her resolve, her devotion and her life will be tested, as the sun sets on the Jedi Order, one last time.


**Broken Skies**

 **Chapter 1**

 **A New Day…**

* * *

A soft autumn breeze blew softly across the Coruscant skyline, it's slight chill becoming lost within the warming rays of the morning sun as dawn broke on the horizon of the Republic's grand capital and with it, the long slumbers of all who rose with that same life giving light came to an end for the beginning of a brand new day.

Standing as a beacon of peace and justice in the galaxy, the ancient Jedi Temple too began to stir and awaken, though for one such Padawan, that was to become one of surprise. Sleeping soundly in a small desk chair before the open box window of her private quarters, Ahsoka Tano shivered into an unwanted consciousness. Her left hand dangled inches from the floor below her, while her right, bandaged and held in place by layers of white cloth, sat delicately atop her lap and the lightsaber it would still struggle to clutch.

Startled out of her dreamless sleep, the young Togruta stumbled on stiff legs to her feet and into the fall that followed. Instinctively, her left hand shot up to halt the descent before she could add a cracked montral to her list of injuries. She grunted as her stiff joints protested against the sudden movement, but as the pain passed and her breathing slowed to a gentle rhythm, she calmed, relaxed herself back into the chair and looked out toward the faraway distance, where the massive orange and yellow orb of light brightened the sky and the world below.

Coruscant wasn't known to be a world of beauty, at least not true beauty. It's tall, some unending skyscrapers stuck up like thorns on a plant denied of its rose, while its upper surface, a mask covering the dark and terrible underworld below, bore streets consumed by machines, steaming vents and the highest class of scum that dreamed of the dizzying heights, but could never hope to reach them because of their criminal ways. It was for these reasons and more that Ahsoka enjoyed each and every sunrise as they came, because each one marked a new day, a new beginning and an end to whatever anxiety had marked the time before.

A light yawn escaped her lips as she took in the scene and saved as she had many others before as a mental image stored safely away for the mornings when the dawn was clouded and bleak. For seventeen standard years, this had been her ritual. Be it as child, growing into life on Shili, an initiate still learning the ways of the Jedi, or now as a Padawan, developing both her skills and her very self to become more in the eyes of the Order, a Knight sworn to protect and serve the galaxy as a peace keeper and watchful protector. She would never forget these times, these moments when she could truly say she was at peace, no matter how fleeting or short lived it would always prove to be.

In recent times, these sunrises had almost evaded her. Sleep had been a struggle, and she had not dreamed so much as she had suffered through nightmares of events that had never happened. She had witnessed massacres, felt blaster bolts, missiles and lightsaber's strike, stab and shatter her time and time again like a torturous ordeal that failed to show any signs of relief. Her efforts to quell these visions, to push them back for respite of any form had only been somewhat successful, and even that had only been recent. _They_ had believed she was becoming stronger because of it, that she was succeeding at defeating her mental foes as well as her physical one, yet still, the horrors continued to haunt her nights as if like a lost spirit in the Force, searching for answers that did not exist and forever wandering without cause or a need to realise such futility in the journey they had set out for themselves.

It had been the Council that had explained such things to her. It had only been one year, yet she had remembered the meetings, felt the suffering of the therapy and fought through the pangs of shame and regret they had brought with them despite being told on a constant basis that none of it was her fault, and that through trust in the Force, she would overcome these things and more to emerge stronger at the end, though of that end, there had been no promise nor sign.

She wondered even then what her visions had meant. A chase, a trial and a betrayal and a loss the likes of which her heart could not comprehend. Yet no matter how often these dreams occurred, she could not find meaning in them, or she had not been allowed to as in recent times her worries had been met with orders to report to the Council for _'treatment'_ as part of the healing process, but what was it that needed healing exactly? They had never deemed it necessary to tell her.

"There is no emotion… there is peace…"

Ahsoka recited the Jedi Code over and again. In the past, she had found solace in the words and the promises they held, but of late, no matter how many times she played them over in her mind or out loud, each and every sentence seemed to become all the more hollow of meaning.

Her master, Anakin Skywalker, had told her a story once. He had spoken of a Jedi of legend who had gone through similar trials within the Force as she was experiencing now. That Jedi had been turned away by the Order in those old times and left to wonder the galaxy as an exile, though even in her darkest hour, she had never given up hope of someday finding a reason as to why the Force had chosen her destiny for her. That was what Ahsoka herself now clung to, that tale had served her better than the code of late, and though she had never admitted that to anyone other than Anakin, she felt certain that it was better to hold onto the same hope that the Exile had alone, than deny herself the journey with a crowd that only meant to lead her down the paths they themselves had laid out for her. _No better…,_ she thought, _than just another lost spirit.._.

Standing from her seat with a stretch of her aching legs and arms brought another faint wave of dizziness that on this occasion she had been prepared for, she welcomed it, embraced it and let it pass as she allowed her skin to bathe in the suns warm light for the minutes it took for her body to adjust, to ready itself for the day to come before she activated the small panel beside the open window, and called upon the thick sheet of transparisteel to slide across, closing the air outside off while the warmth continued to radiate through.

Another low yawn escaped her lips as Ahsoka stepped away from her chair and into the view of the floor to ceiling mirror which sat upon the far wall of her quarters. At the age of seventeen, she had grown into a fine and capable Jedi as well as a healthy young Togruta. Her lekku, the head tails which framed her smooth features now fell well below her shoulders to the centre of her chest and midway down her back where the rear lek now always touched the exposed skin within the backless burgundy battledress she had become so fond of wearing. Her montrals too had developed, becoming all the more prominent as their tips rose ever so slightly higher, while the abilities they offered in most part through echolocation continued to serve her well and often, while their potency sharpened evermore and combined with her power through the Force to give her a perfect awareness of everything and everyone around her, a trait which had not only saved her, but tens if not hundreds or thousands of other lives throughout her continued involvement in the ongoing Clone Wars.

Her reflection stared back at her with a small, fragile smile. She looked tired despite her extended period of rest; her lekku in particular; emphasising her emotional fatigue as the usually bright and vibrant chevron stripes darkened as if to mirror her feelings and state of mind after being left on her own for what seemed like an eternity.

For a Togruta, it was unsettling to be kept isolated like she had been for such an extended period of time. The tribal people of Shili were born into the welcoming arms of a large and close extended family. They grew together, lived for one another and protected each other no matter the circumstances much like the Jedi would preach they were supposed to both for themselves and the people they protected and served throughout the galaxy, but here, now, in a Jedi Temple robbed of many of its occupants by the fires of war, she was alone, and the effects were beginning to show on her all the more despite her best efforts to hide them.

Yes, Ahsoka had grown and learned a lot in the years since Master Plo Koon had discovered and taken her away from her home all those years ago, but no matter how many battles she had won, no matter how many friends she had made and lost over the course of the war, no matter how dark her days had been of late and how dark the days to come would be, she would never forget where she came from, even if the Council would try to convince her otherwise.

She straightened herself with a long breath and blinked her blue eyes twice before the figure staring back at her from the mirror, "Still heart, still mind…" she whispered as she exhaled, "Remember who you are…"

Turning away from her reflection, Ahsoka cleared her thoughts as best she could before making her way into her room's refresher and quickly activating the shower to call on a steady stream of heated water which danced and pooled in the centre of her open palm. The produce from the Temple's reservoirs was a welcome change to the crude sonic showers found aboard the Republic Star Destroyers, and though she missed the comradery and close bonds she had formed with many of the Clones she had fought alongside for all of three standard years, nothing could compete with the warmth and soothing relief of the real thing.

Stepping out of her boots, she began to undress, being careful when removing the cloth bandage from her hand, and deposited her clothing from the day before into a small hamper which would be attended to by a temple protocol droid later that day, most likely when she was not present to see it do it's pre-programmed task of collecting and cleaning her battledress, leggings and gloves before placing them back into the wooden chest next to her bedding, itself a product of her initiate years after she had completed her rite of passage on Shili and taken ownership of a large, fallen tree trunk which she had shaped, modified and carved over the years since to act as both a simple place or storage as well as a reminder of her home world which even to this day she still held dear to her heart.

The Jedi did not encourage personal possessions of the like of the chest, but they did not seem to take notice of any amongst them that decided to create or purchase an object of importance to the individual, at least as long as such things did not interfere with their day to day activities either inside or outside of the temple itself. For Ahsoka, the chest was a creation of her own making, the elaborate patterns and symbols carved into the wood telling a story in and of itself about her life as a wide-eyed youngling up to the point she had been promoted to the rank of Padawan and assigned to her master on a day she would always remember, it's mark, a series of six smaller orbs around one giant, a perfect representation of Shili and the six moons that orbited above its clear blue skies.

The naturally sharp and pointed tips of her canine-like teeth broke the grey expanse of her lips as Ahsoka smiled under the gentle torrent of warm water. Had it been possible in the small space, and had she been as fond of the practice as the Jedi were supposed to be, she fancied she would have sat and meditated for hours on end confined within her refresher, immersing herself in the Force in an effort to better understand her role in the Galaxy and her greater destiny. If only, but Anakin had never been one to encourage such things unless there was nothing else more exciting to do, and up until now, that had suited her just fine.

After she was washed, dried and re-dressed in the spare clothes she had laid out for herself the night before, Ahsoka took care to wrap her injured right arm back into the confines of a fresh cloth bandage, and the new bacta patch that wrapped around her wrist underneath. Once finished, she returned to her chair where she had left her lightsaber, retrieved her shoto from the desk beside it and attached both to the belt around her waist which too held the tribal sash which marked her not only as one born of Shili, but also a proud member of the Tano tribe.

Moving into the view of the mirror once more, she smiled, patted her skirt down and adjusted her belt before stepping back into her favoured boots and pulling on the single arm-guard and fingerless glove to her left hand. Satisfied she now looked the part; she turned toward her rooms sealed door, activated the control panel next to it and opened the entrance to the living space she shared with her master. The large chamber was circular by design, it's floor sinking three times like a set of giant steps from the entrance in the back, the meditation area in the middle, itself a crescent moon that only held a pair of circular couches, and the relaxation space at the bottom, a combination of a larger wall mounted couch which faced the massive window that took the place of a wall, a selection of holonet terminals and viewing screens which folded in and out of the ceiling and, most importantly to her, a series of shelves which held a great number of 'souvenirs' from the various planets she and Anakin had visited.

The front corners of the chamber blocked off into a small library on the left, near the entrance to her room, and a kitchen and dining area to the right nearer to her master's quarters. Behind her, the still open entrance to her room revealed the orange walls and the painting she had only recently put there herself, the perfect representation of her own facial markings sitting over her desk, yet another reminder to herself that she was who she was and that that should always have been a point of pride no matter what obstacles life, or the Force, put before her on the path to becoming a Jedi Knight.

Even at a glance, Ahsoka could tell that her master had either skipped breakfast or not come home at all the night before from whatever hijinks he had deemed not to tell her about in all the years they had been together as teacher and student. She had her suspicions, her own guesses and theories as to what Anakin got up to in those early hours when and after he had snuck out or simply not arrived back at their shared quarters at all, but no matter how many times he did it she had always kept the questions and queries to herself rather than question him or anyone else regarding the subject. That was their unspoken agreement of sorts, though she had more than once wondered what he would think if she ever wondered out at night to do whatever he did. Somehow, she didn't think that conversation would be any less awkward for either of them.

"Bad enough you left me behind when Coruscant was under attack, Master…" she said out loud, remembering back to the moment in the Jedi Temple's hanger when she had begged to be brought into the battle above the capital planet during the Separatist invasion and the subsequent kidnapping of the Chancellor by General Grievous, "Now when you are home, you won't even make an effort to see me, or at least bring me back some breakfast…"

She smiled through a sarcastic pout at the thought of scolding Anakin when he did decide to return. In the early days of their pairing, he had tried to distract her from inquiring after his whereabouts by bringing her a box of her favourite fruit, Sihan peaches, which had always been the quick and easy way to quieten her before she could get her words out, but lately, after he and Obi-Wan's return from the outer regions, another sight she had been left to hear about rather than see, it had more been a case of him disappearing for days on end and returning only when she wasn't there to greet him. The last time they had spoken had been via their comms, and even that conversation had been short. The _Chosen One_ , apparently had a lot on his mind, and his good little apprentice had done her part in leaving him to his business while she waited patiently for him to finish up and make time for her. She smiled at that too, adding more and more facts to the argument she would make alongside a wide eyed plea the next time they were face to face and she would once again remind him that he she wasn't just another pastime like those model ships he kept hidden away in the messy spare parts storage closet that was _his_ private quarters.

Sighing, perhaps out of feigned frustration at the fact her master didn't spring through the front door to say 'good morning, Snips' to her in his way, Ahsoka decided an early walk through the Temple before breakfast was her best option to pass the time prior to when she would most likely return to the Jedi Archives for the day and study herself into an oblivion of boredom and the nap that would follow with her head rested uncomfortably atop one of the work station's touch sensitive access panels.

Such had been her life since the hated injury had pushed her to the edges of her sanity. The days would drag on and on and on without end until the sun began to set and she would finally allow herself to leave her seat and return to her quarters to begin the cycle over again with a long sleep and a rude awakening, though at times, rare as they were, the trips had not been completely wasteful. She had stumbled upon certain entries from the historical records which had kept her reading for days on end simply because she could relate to a lot of the people who had entered or been entered into them by other archivists throughout the years, centuries and millennia of the Order's existence. For the most part, she had paced herself after beginning with the Great Hyperspace War between the Jedi backed Old Republic and the ancient Sith Empire of over three thousand years ago, up until the point she was currently set after the redemption of Darth Revan, his destruction of a great machine known as the Star Forge and the defeat of his former friend and apprentice in Darth Malak.

Tales of Republic heroes and their old enemies had kept her mind active on those long days, but even still, Ahsoka dreamed of returning to the front lines at the very moment she was medically cleared to do so, especially now that the war had been turned to favour the Republic more than ever with the death of Count Dooku and the failed attempt to capture the Chancellor which left the Separatist alliance shattered and at the point of breaking should the warm light shine too brightly upon its frozen heart.

She wanted to be there when it happened, to be a part of the final crusade that would lead to the fall of the confederacy once and for all. She knew it was going to happen sooner rather than later and she knew that when it did, Anakin would make sure he was leading the charge from the front with, she hoped, his Padawan stood right by his side.

The image excited her enough to bring about a slight shiver, yet she refused to get ahead of herself. A visit to the medical centre was in order to get her arm checked out first, then she would test it herself in the sparing chamber with light practice, preferably with someone else but if not, her old exercises would have to do as they always seemed to. It wasn't as though she was particularly weak with her left hand either, wielding her shoto had strengthened her grip as well as helped her adapt to using her weaker arm proficiently whenever and wherever it was called upon; still, she figured the time away from active duty may have left her a little rusty by all accounts, meaning if she wanted to return to the fight as soon as she intended, it would have to be today that her rehabilitation truly kicked into high gear.

Ahsoka laid her bandaged right palm atop the pommel of her lightsaber as she stepped through the open door of the shared quarters and into the empty corridor beyond. _Training_ , she thought to herself, _actual training with actual people… it's been a lifetime…_

As she walked, Ahsoka couldn't help but notice the emptiness not only within the Temple itself, but also within the usually prevalent Force pool upon which the ancient building had floated on for its entire existence. The Clone Wars had called so many Jedi to the battlefronts all across the galaxy; many still fought, still defended, still bled, suffered and died in the pursuit of peace, but it was only now, after spending more time at home than she had since the day she was promoted to Padawan status, the reality of the terrible conflicts true cost shun through all too clearly.

The Order's numbers had been devastated, everybody knew it, yet no one had the heart to say it out loud. She knew more than most how desperate things had become, she was a first-hand example, a child of thirteen standard years when she was chosen to take on the rank of commander within the Grand Army of the Republic and learn the ways of the Force and the art of war under an already decorated Jedi Knight and General as well the troops he himself lead into battle. Looking back on it, she hadn't been ready for the horrors that awaited a pure hearted and innocent individual as she had been, not truly. The war had changed her, she had become stronger for the most part, but also she had had to transform the person she had been into the hardened, capable warrior she was now, all from the curious, happy-go-lucky teenager she had been and as much as she hated to admit it, that stolen childhood, even as a Jedi, had eaten away at her more than any of the scars she still yet carried, even as much as she wished those roles could be reversed.

Settling into a relaxed and steady stride, Ahsoka fell into yet another one of her morning rituals almost instinctively, the smooth tone of her voice lowly humming an old Shilian tune Shaak Ti had taught her as an initiate years earlier and slipping into her thoughts as the song played on, an adventurous backing tune to an equally adventurous mind which had once told the tale of a young Togruta huntress and her sacred rite of passage, if only, but after such a long time with little more than a handful of moments to enjoy such rare enjoyment, she could hardly remember the Togruti words the Jedi Master had passed down to her, nor the end of a story she had at one point in her life been so fond of recalling.

It had been one of the many side effects of the _treatment_ ; many of her earliest memories from childhood had been either blocked out completely or shaded over in a fog she could not see into without great effort and concentration. She had once spoken her native language fluently, had written entire journals as a youngling she could no longer read and sang the full length of songs much like the one Master Ti had taught her without any difficulty until the Council had begun interfering and probing her mind in the aftermath of what they had described only as some kind a _'traumatic event'_ which had left her on the edges of sanity and threatened to overwhelm the person she had been before their intervention.

She had no idea why they were doing this to her, or why no matter how many times they called on her to perform their hated ritual they had all but failed in doing anything other than aggravating her already horrifying nightmares or stripping her of the few happy memories she had left to hang on to. She needed an escape for it; she needed to run again, to breathe clean, unfiltered air on some faraway planet after she had her master had liberated it and its people from evil clutches of the Confederacy. She needed to be far away from the temple and the Jedi Council so that they couldn't hurt her any more than they already had and she wanted, more than anything else in the galaxy, to prove to them they were wrong and that she did deserve to be a part of their Order. It was this that had kept her from running away whenever the opportunity arose, she had considered it long and hard before coming to a final decision and now, after everything she had been through and all that she would still yet see, she was determined to overcome it, all of it, and rise above her station to become something more than she was, just as the hero of her song had, just as she would.

As she turned the corner towards the over-watch to the temple's hanger, Ahsoka realised she had tears in her eyes. She had lived her life falling through broken skies for too long, had played the part of the broken hearted Padawan longer still, and now, she wanted nothing more than see all of it cleared away, cleared, so that her path was straight and free of obstacles. That was her motivation, her goal to strive toward until she was sure she could look herself in the mirror one morning without the same doubt that had greeted her every day of her Jedi life. She would smile again and mean it, she would laugh again and know it was because she was having fun and enjoying life rather than running away from it. Her time would come, she knew it, all she was required to do was give it the push it needed back in the right direction and even if she didn't know it yet, the Force too would help her in doing what she knew in her heart needed to be done.

She caught herself steady and stopped her stride before the sloping ramp that led down on to the hangers floor, taking in a deep breath from the cold air that was flooding in from the massive open doors on the far end of the huge space before lifting her left fist up to wipe the small yet noticeable droplets of clear liquid away from her stinging eyes.

It was almost with a lust for flight that she stared right away at the sheet covered silhouette of her Starfighter sitting idle inside one of the wall mounted docks that dotted the entire chamber from back to front. It dawned on her then that she hadn't flown since the same mission that had been the cause of her current problems, and yet, she could still remember the skies above Cato Neimoidia as clearly as she seen those above Coruscant now. _They_ had said she had crashed after coming under attack by a swarm of buzz droids; that her ship had only been saved thanks to her master's efforts in sacrificing his own craft to take control of and pilot hers to safety after she had been knocked unconscious by the impact of the ship slamming side-first hard into a cliff face and spiralling out of control down towards the planet surface. _Reckless piloting under pressure, very un-Jedi like_ , they had scolded her, but she had refused to believe it. She had flown with the skill and reflexes of a veteran master under Anakin's teachings, she had never crashed her fighter; she had barely ever taken an enemy hit before, let alone allow herself to be boarded by the same insect-like droids which had allegedly been her undoing. The whole story was a contradiction of her very self and Ahsoka half refused to believe it if not for her master's own account of the events, which again, proved to hurt her pride more than all the scrutiny the council could conjure to put a black mark on her previously clean reputation.

She had wanted to return to the skies again, if only for a simple test flight or to take part in one of the many patrols the Jedi had begun conducting over Coruscant in the few days since the Separatist attack. Clearance to fly was the only thing keeping her on the ground, but without a council member's approval, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

Lost in her daydreams, Ahsoka almost missed the sharp pang in the Force that shuck her despite its familiar signature. Her eyes followed an invisible line down toward the exact spot where the entrance ramp ended and the hanger floor began, and there, standing as still as a statue and smiling back up at her with all the warmth of a small sun, stood the last person she would have expected to see on a morning which she had accepted would be spent all on her own, but one that proved to be the weapon against which her anxiety suddenly stood no chance against as it faltered and fell before the all contouring sapphire blade of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker.

Words escaped her before she could hold them or herself back, "Master!" she half squealed with excitement at the sight of the mentor she hadn't seen in days, though it had felt like so much longer. She was running before she knew her legs could carry the weight of her sudden burst of joy, and falling long after the time to register her trip had come and gone.

"Ahsoka..!" Skywalker shouted back in concern, throwing himself forward just in time to catch his Padawan before her wide smiling demeanour had the chance to become familiar with the floor her feet had left only a few milliseconds earlier. He managed to bring his arms up, wrapping the smaller Togruta in a makeshift bear-hug both to stop her descent and prevent his own, but even as he did, the girl, now nestled in his arms, had returned the gesture with a fierce wrapping of her own arms around his upper body, her nose digging into his shoulder, even as she was careful not to put too much strain on her bandaged right forearm, "Slow down, Snips, or you'll break the other one."

His tone was mocking, but only in the playful, teasing way it always tended to be whenever either of them became entangled in some sort of mess. She didn't pass remark on it though as she usually would, Ahsoka was just happy to finally have someone there for her, even if all it was be was a simple hug, she enjoyed every passing moment, the warmth she felt against the cool breeze waving in from the far off open hanger door and not least, the same happiness radiating from her master's Force signature at seeing her as she too must have been exhibiting all at the same time.

"I missed you, master…" she finally broke her hold on him to take a step back and lock her blue eyes with that of his own icy gaze, "I heard about the attack on General Grievous' flagship, about how you and Master Obi-Wan saved the Chancellor and killed Count Dooku…" She paused then, suddenly remembering the promise she made to herself back in her quarters as she took another step back and turned her left hand into a fist, "Why couldn't you just let me come with you!?"

Anakin recoiled all too late as the small orange missile hit him square on the shoulder. He grunted, "Whoa! Easy on the goods, Snips!" his smile brought fourth her feigned fury as another punch landed, she still had her agility it seemed, even after the long months, his apprentice was a lethal as ever and she was all too willing to let him know it.

"And you haven't been home in days. Togruta don't cope well with being left alone for so long, you should know that by now…!" she returned his grin, the final throw of her fist coming to rest on his probably bruised left shoulder as if to emphasise her last point, but she knew he got the message, of course, this hadn't been the first time she had had to teach him such a lesson.

"Sorry…" he groaned, placing his hand on top of hers as if trying to sooth the stabbing pain, "If I'd known you'd been that lonely, I would have sent Artoo over to keep you company…" _Clever_ , she thought, _hold my hand back so I can't hit you again… you never learn, Anakin…_

With another sly smile, Ahsoka lifted her right leg and gave the taller man a light kick, earning another yelp as he finally seen sense and took a step away from her before she could try to hit him again, "I love Artoo, but **that** is not the same thing as having my supposed **teacher** around, **Master**. It's a wonder I haven't be reassigned by now, maybe I'll put in a request for a transfer and you'll never see me again…"

Anakin frowned, not genuinely, but he made a show of seeming to be hurt by the remark, "Don't say that, Ahsoka" he replied, taking the opportunity for respite to rub the spot she had chosen to inflict the most damage on, and then, his tone became slightly more serious, "I wanted to call in to you, really I did, but I've had a lot to deal with lately… I just didn't want to burden you with my problems."

Her smile faded at that. The initial relief and joy at seeing her master again fell away just enough for her to catch on to the conflict he was trying even then to hide from her, but their bond was too strong, too binding to cover it completely within the shadows of his heart and though she knew that seeing her had brought about a similar feeling to her own in him, the pain was still evident and so close to her own. She knew the cause because of that, she could sense in him the same doubt and frustration she had held secretly against the Jedi Council for what they had done to her, but, unlike her, his anger, and that's what it was, went deeper, almost to a primal level in which fear drove him into its grasp, and it was together that they played on his feelings, turning them dark and haunted to the point she too began to feel afraid, though she too did **her** best to hide it.

"Master… you know you can talk to me about anything, right? I'm always here for you, just like you're always there for me when I really need you…" her voice broke softly, trying to sooth him with her words had been something she had practiced to much success in the past, and she hoped it would help her here and now to accomplish the same. "I didn't mean anything bad by what I said, I just missed you is all…"

The fire inside Anakin cooled to a cinder, he had missed her too, she knew it the moment their eyes had met on the ramp and she felt it fully now. Stepping forward, he embraced her again, this time more softly than before and welcomed her into the hug without the same hesitation he had felt upon holding her the first time. Ahsoka felt it all intently, he needed a friend, no, he needed the little sister he had never had to talk to him when no one else would. She had played that role countless times before and would do so again now to make sure the best friend she had ever had felt as safe as she did whenever they were together. Master and Padawan by virtue of the Jedi order, spiritual brother and sister by the grace of the Force.

"I know, Ahsoka…" he whispered gently as he again cradled her in his embrace, "I know…"

* * *

 ** _Disclaimer:_**

Disney and Lucasfilm Limited own all Star Wars characters and concepts. I do not own the rights to any of the characters, locations or anything to do with Star Wars. Any Original Characters and or locations however are my own.

 _ **Author's notes:**_

Thanks for reading guys!

I guess I should begin by explaining one or two things about this story before we get fully into it, beginning by answering the question I have a feeling many long-term readers of mine will have, "Why is this so similar to The Broken Hearted Padawan?" The answer is simple of course, this story will be a complete reboot of the first story I ever wrote for this site, with one or two large changes which I could only have brought in by starting the tale off right from the beginning.

I won't spoil anything for you, but I can promise that I have put all of my concentration and motivation into writing this and I hope that that becomes clearer as the newly revised plot reveals itself along the way. Obviously, this is still the Alternative Universe version in which Ahsoka is still a member of the Jedi Order on the day the Republic falls and the Galactic Empire rises to take its place. I always wanted to know what Ahsoka would do if she had been present in the Temple during Operation Knightfall, and though we now know she wasn't around to see that, I'm still determined to play those events out as I imagined them.

Readers who followed TBHP will also be glad to know that this story will not follow the exact same path as its predecessor but still holds on to the vast majority of what I feel made the original so fun to write, and that goes double for the ending, but again, I won't spoil it for anyone who wants to continue reading.

I'll stop yammering on now, but once again I just want to say a big thank you to you all for reading and that a review is always very much appreciated (hint, hint :P). But yeah, that'll about do it for me. Have a very happy holiday season wherever you are and I will catch you guys next time.


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